Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Looking back, I realize that I freaked out exactly the way in which I would normally riddicule 'normal' folks when I realized that I only had $8 in my ATM account. I quickly transfered some cash from my savings, and started to walk. Walking lets me think, and I had a lot of thinking to do. I ran through all of my options, ranging from spanging to flying a sign to outright shoplifting, and a few minutes later forced myself to calm down and think rationally. I had enough food for days, I simply needed somewhere to cook it. Downtown Redding is NOT the place to start a campfire, but looking at some of the riverbank property, it looked camp-able. I met a gent on my way walking otu of town whom was truly down on his luck, having just gotten back into using drugs after years off of them, and subsequently kicked out. He had no money, food, pack/shelter, nor any idea where or how to procure them or get around. I was tempted to give him some of my food, and looking back probably should have, but at the time I was more worried about my own food position than his; how selfish of me. I stood and chatted with him on some of the basics of flying a sign, hitching, food shelves, food stamps, etc, although in the end we parted ways. Looking back, I wonder why I did not stop and help him more. What would he havedone after the meager amounts of food I could have given him had run out? I'm two days ahead of schedule, I've got money again, and these awesome folks have taken me in, fed me, and are hopefully returning in a bit to hang out and have some water fun. I feel midly shameful for not helping the guy, but at the same time, I had no idea my fortune would turn out so well. Well, I managed to hitch to the outskirts of Redding, where I made a dry cold camp, infested with red ants and managing to lose my only remaining light down a small hole in the ground. No light? No prob, though again I was initially scared. I slept most of the night well, waking occasionally. The next morning (the 11th), a lift got me into shingletown, where a prison guard picked me up and dropped me in Susanville, prison town USA! Back in the desert and heat, I began to once again worry about water, my eyes spotting every available water source from stream to McDonalds. Soon enough, I got an out-of-town lift from two highschool girls, and then a lift directly into Reno with two Mexican guys. Unfortunately,was in completely the wrong direction to hitch south, and walked to the library to cool off, grab water, and hop on the net for a bit. Still having $8 (in a debit card), I was unable to take the bus, and ended up walking 9 miles to the edge of Reno, where I promptly camped off the side of the road. I built my first road-side campfire in a LONG time, and had a delicious meal of lightly fried potatoes in olive oil, along with a peanut butter sandwich. Oh, on the way I stopped at a supermarket, as I had run out of both peanut butter and bread, and picked up a new jar, a loaf of bread, and a pound of pasta for $4.30; my anxiety waiting for the debit pin pad to read "ACCEPTED" was palpable. I realized that evening that it was possible to have a road-side fire without anyone really caring. It was a joyus moment, also realizing that starting up and controlling fires for cooking is becoming much easier and quicker, more ingrained and certainly less than the bonfires I am used to creating. The 13th was a significant travel day for me, with a lifts from Reno to Carson City, to Minden, alll the way down to Lee Vinning/Tioga Pass, to the Mammoth Lakes onramp. Despite it being only 1PM or so, I decided to camp for the night, knowing that Bishop was not too far, and believing it to be an easy hitch in. I hiked in perhaps a half mile to a stream on some BLM land, knowing that I could camp wherever/however I wanted, and began setting up camp. I took a relaxed day, cooking almost the entire pound of pasta in two large batches and using my huge can of pasta sauce, along with a few spices, to fill my gut. After worrying so much about food, it felt amazing to be full. It also felt great not to worry about anything! I took stock of my food stores again, having a few potatoes left (perhaps 6 small reds), plenty of oil, a bit of pasta and sauce, and a stream with fresh water within 100 yards. Despite the annoyance of a few ants, I had an awesome time cowboy-camping just off the road, not worrying about other people, police, food, money, water, shelter, or really anything. Occasionally offroad vehicles passed by, but none stopped or bothered me, and I spent the rest of the day, night, and half of the next day (yesterday) simply relaxing. So after getting on the road yesterday and walking for perhaps 5 minutes, I got a lift directly to the Library in Bishop. I hung out there for a while (no wifi!?), walking outside to pick up a wireless signal and call a few folks. I checked my account balance and...I HAVE MONEY! It's an amazing revalation, given how I had been feeling.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

...was the first thing I heard at 3AM, nearly falling out of my hammock during my first night at Autonomous Mutant Fest XIII. This was a pretty good indication of the rest of the time spent there, vascillating between having too little and too much fun, meeting ***holes and some awesome new friends. HUGE thanks go to Sanyo (Sanjo? sp?) from Olytopia for giving Shirt and I a ride out, as well as to Shirt for buying us food on the way out. The hot springs, the company, and all of the fun events were a blast, though some of the crusty punks and true scum brought a bit of a downer out. All in all, a good time was had!

So I'm (once again back) in Eugene, waiting to meet up with Lauren, and then who knows what. I need to call cale and see if he's getting some sort of CS thing together tonight,a nd then I need ot figure out where I'm heading from here. I need to head south soon, down to Cali, but I'm considering sticking around for a few days for the Oregon Country Fair. It's supposed to be one heck of a time, and I'm always game to have some fun. No determination yet.

Also, a new surprise is brewing on the horizon...Arrow has put a new thought into my head, but I'm keeping it mostly under wraps until I get back to NYC...

Thursday, July 2, 2009

So, I'm waiting to get a confirmation from Orbitz, but I've purchased a flight from the 27th of July to the 17th of Sept between Philly and Amsterdam. For some reason, flights from NYC to AMS were all over a grand, whereas PHL was less expensive...So there ya go! Sadly, I spent wayyy more than if I had booked a week ago, but so be it.

So for a 6PM train, I'll PROBABLY be leaving NYC in the morning, train train train, arrive at airport, etc. Possibly. Another possibility will be seeing whom might graciously let me crash the night before somewhere in Philly, in which case I'll head down Sat. Afternoon/morning/etc.

It also means that I won't have any backend trouble getting home, I can hang out with Anu, and I'll have months to have fun!

So the past few days of been a continuous stream of half-conscious memories and mix-matched dreams. I hitched a ride up to Portland, walked from Burnside to Rose Square and then from Pioneer Square/Library to Katherine (my CS host) 's place on Glisan. From there, it's been a nonstop roll of fun, my only regret being unable to link up with Alex while he was also in town (Sorry!). We went out for drinks, relaxed in her studio, talked to NO end (there were two other surfers), and general shenanigans. Though it was now days ago, I'm so burned out from all of the action that I'm still tired! What started as a simple night hike led to my meeting a new AWESOME friend (Suzanne), and immersing myself in her life for three or so days to help her move. She dropped me off at the WinCo in Eugene earlier today, and I've made my way to the library. Hopefully I'll make contact with a friend here this afternoon, otherwise I'm heading directly out to Mutant Fest.